User Experience​ ​​(UX) ​has gained a lot of attention​ in the recent times​ because of its importance for product growth and development. But it is a problem area for many organizations wanting to set up a UX team. With so much buzz around UI, UX and Usability, questions like: what should your UX team comprise of, is it necessary to get a full force of researchers, information architects, interaction designers and visual designers, or can you do it all with a one-man UX Army, still remain unanswered. In this webinar I did for Srijan Technologies, I have shared my experience and learnings on how a build a one-man UX team. This presentation also covers the qualities and responsibilities of a UX person and how you can facilitate a good UX culture within the organization.

1. @srijan #SrijanWW
All content provided in this document is for informational purposes only. It does
not represent the thoughts, intentions, plans or strategies of people and organisation
I am currently associated with or from the past. It is solely my opinion.
HOW TO BUILD YOUR
OR BE ONE!
ONE-MAN UX ARMY.
Yogesh Bhagchandani
@pixelfiesta

2. @srijan #SrijanWW
What this covers
• Whom to hire (Qualities/ Responsibilities)
• What to expect from your UXer?
• How to facilitate UX
• How to make everybody think UX
• ...and set the ball rolling

3. @srijan #SrijanWW
QUALITIES/ RESPONSIBILITIES

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Hire wisely
• UI+UX+HTML+CSS+Javascript+
JQuery+Flash+everything
NO!
• Don’t try to get a cheap deal Don’t get a SPORK

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Hire them if...
• They have failed in their own product/
entrepreneurship skills
• They have managed multiple jobs before
• They have made shifts in career
(Advertising, Marketing, Design to UX)
• Catch them young!

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When to get him onboard
• Hire your designer before your developer
• Involve him when you are thinking or validating
your idea

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Responsibilities
• User Interviews
• Research
• Personas
• Prototyping/Layouts
• User Tests

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FACILITATING THE UX CULTURE

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Empower your UXer
• Research (Primary/ Secondary)
• Surveys or Validations
• Interviews/ Talk to users
Love thy user.

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Allocate a budget
• Agency
• For incentivising users
• Meet users in person
• Insist on feedbacks

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• Do not re-invent
• Facebook ‘Like’ / ‘name tagging’
• Copy patterns, success stories,
not mistakes
• Reduces learning curve for users
Allow copy/ changes

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Never compare.
• No Dribbble or Behance
• Who created it? When?
• Was it published, sold or released?

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Imperfection is OK!
• No Pixel-perfect layouts
• No fine-tuning
• Try half-baked product
• Don’t chase gorgeousness in UI
If you are not embarrassed by your first
version of your product, you have
launched too late.
—Reid Hoffman,
Founder of Linkedin

14. @srijan #SrijanWW
No big show.
• Nobody bothers about what you think is
important
• Who is using your product right now?
• You will always have time to improve
• Design has to evolve
Ship crappy, Be happy.

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Early Linkedin

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You (UXer) are everything!
• Do everything when you are on it.
• Workflows, Layout, Content
• No lorem-ipsum. Write your UI copy
• If you cannot communicate your thoughts, nobody
else can

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Ban Photoshop
• Atleast keep them away
• Pen and paper works best
• Use whiteboards than a
21” screen

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First sketch of Twitter

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Facilitate
• With lots and lots of space
• To write, draw, sketch, scribble, discuss, iterate,
re-iterate
• Get sticky-notes (post-its)
• Make everyone participate (Doodling is best)

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Remove mental blocks.
• Set a release date. Announce.
• Nothing works without a deadline
• Have a countdown. Put it up in a room

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Leave it to the specialist.
• Control the designer in you
A certain interaction pattern you like might not be appropriate in
your context
• Do not guide/ suggest
• Because you are the CEO and he is the designer

22. @srijan #SrijanWW
Submerge into everything
• UX guy knows your product well
• Co-create website, e-mailers, sales pitch,
brochures, presentations, etc
• Or whatever it takes to promote your product

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EVERYBODY THINKS UX

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Give freedom
• Facilitate meet-ups. Host some at your place
• Let them co-create products
• Conduct hackathons. Invite friends
• Solve problems together
• Allow freelance
Train people well enough so they can
leave, treat them well enough so they
don’t want to.
—Richard Branson

25. @srijan #SrijanWW
Create the atmosphere
• Get books. Lots and lots of them
• Anything that can boost creativity
Toys/ Games/ Puzzles
• Put up posters
A room without books
is like a body without a soul.
—Marcus Tullius Cicero

26. @srijan #SrijanWW
Who is your design team?
• Not just the immediate team
i.e. Information architects, designer, researcher
• Everyone who contributes in building the product
• Developer are creative too.
Design is not just what it looks like and
feels like. Design is how it works.
—Steve Jobs

27. @srijan #SrijanWW
Avoid remote teams
• Greater difficulty in co-ordination, compared to
single location
• Smaller the room,
greater the communication
• Easy to sketch and share
Vs Sketch, Scan, Email
then wait for response
Facebook survived 34 Intense Days Of
"Lockdown" To Build Graph Search

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SET THE BALL ROLLING

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• Hire wisely. And early.
• Empower with Research
• Allocate UX budget - Incentives, Agency, etc
• Do not reinvent. Reduce learning curve.
(Focus on problem-solving)
• Let design evolve. (Don't plan a ceremonial launches)
• Facilitate (Lots of space to sketch and draw)
• Submerge (website, e-mailers, sales pitch, brochures, presentations,
etc)
• Freedom. To co-create with anyone interested.
• Create the atmosphere. Think creatively.
• Encourage everything to be customer focussed.

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THANK YOU
Yogesh Bhagchandani
@pixelfiesta